Stories of the injured in Boston Marathon bombing

ADDS NAME OF VICTIM - FILE - In this April 15, 2013 file photo, Sydney Corcoran, of Lowell, Mass. is tended to at the finish line of the Boston Marathon after two bombs exploded, in Boston. As people lay badly bleeding in the smoke of the Boston Marathon bombings, rescuers immediately turned to a millennia-old medical device to save their lives _ the tourniquet. Using belts, shirts and other materials, they tied off bleeding limbs in fast-acting bids to prevent major blood loss, shock and death.
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ADDS NAME OF VICTIM - FILE - In this April 15, 2013 file photo, Sydney Corcoran, of Lowell, Mass. is tended to at the finish line of the Boston Marathon after two bombs exploded, in Boston. As people lay badly bleeding in the smoke of the Boston Marathon bombings, rescuers immediately turned to a millennia-old medical device to save their lives _ the tourniquet. Using belts, shirts and other materials, they tied off bleeding limbs in fast-acting bids to prevent major blood loss, shock and death.
/ AP

This combination of undated file photos provided to the Associated Press shows, from left, Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lingzi Lu, a Boston University graduate student. Richard, Campbell and Lu were killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/File)— AP

This combination of undated file photos provided to the Associated Press shows, from left, Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lingzi Lu, a Boston University graduate student. Richard, Campbell and Lu were killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/File)
/ AP

This image from video shows Boston Marathon bombing victim Kevin White (left) sitting with his brother, Andrew White, on Wednesday evening, April 17, 2013 soon after Kevin White was released from Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries he suffered in Monday's blast. Kevin White had just left a restaurant with his parents when the first of two bombs that hit the Boston Marathon exploded about 10 feet away. The force of the blast, he said Wednesday, was so strong that it slammed t— AP

This image from video shows Boston Marathon bombing victim Kevin White (left) sitting with his brother, Andrew White, on Wednesday evening, April 17, 2013 soon after Kevin White was released from Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries he suffered in Monday's blast. Kevin White had just left a restaurant with his parents when the first of two bombs that hit the Boston Marathon exploded about 10 feet away. The force of the blast, he said Wednesday, was so strong that it slammed t
/ AP

This image from video shows Boston Marathon bombing victim Kevin White during an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday evening, April 17, 2013 soon after Kevin White was released from Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries he suffered in Monday's blast. Kevin White had just left a restaurant with his parents when the first of two bombs that hit the Boston Marathon exploded about 10 feet away. The force of the blast, he said Wednesday, was so strong that it slammed th— AP

This image from video shows Boston Marathon bombing victim Kevin White during an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday evening, April 17, 2013 soon after Kevin White was released from Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries he suffered in Monday's blast. Kevin White had just left a restaurant with his parents when the first of two bombs that hit the Boston Marathon exploded about 10 feet away. The force of the blast, he said Wednesday, was so strong that it slammed th
/ AP

The twin bombs at the Boston Marathon killed Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University student from China; 8-year-old spectator Martin Richard; and 29-year-old spectator Krystle Campbell. But it also injured more than 170 people: runners, couples, spectators, children. Some are in grave condition; some lost limbs or senses; all their lives will be forever touched by the bombings. Here are some of their stories.

CELESTE AND SYDNEY CORCORAN: HOLDING HANDS

Celeste Corcoran is a hairstylist on upscale Newbury Street, not far from the site of the bombing. Her daughter, Sydney, 17, is a senior at Lowell High School.

Celeste lost both legs below the knee and Sydney has severe injuries as well, cousin Alyssa Carter said in a fundraising page set up at GoFundMe.com. The page had raised more than $277,000 by Thursday morning.

Family members said Celeste was being incredibly positive. Her sister, Carmen Acabbo, told WJAR-TV that Celeste joked she "would be a hairstylist on wheels now."

Sydney has been through tough times before. She was hit by a car while crossing a street less than two years ago and fought to recover from a fractured skull, the Lowell Sun reported.

Nurses at Boston Medical Center were ultimately able to get the mother and daughter into the same hospital room.

Carol Downing asks herself if she could have done something differently that would have spared her daughters from Monday's bombing.

Downing was about to cross the finish line in her first Boston Marathon when the bombs went off.

Daughter Nicole Gross, 31, is a personal trainer and triathlete in North Carolina at the Charlotte Athletic Club, where her husband, Michael, is general manager. She helped her mother prepare for the race.

Erika's leg had to be amputated. Nicole's left leg was broken and right ankle was fractured, according to WCNC-TV. Michael had injuries including third-degree burns.

Downing told WCNC that it was supposed to be a fun weekend and that her daughters were so proud of her. Then the "what ifs?" came pouring out.

"What if I hadn't qualified? What if I hadn't come? What if I had gotten sick and couldn't come?" she asked. "What if I had run faster? What if they had stood someplace different?"

AARON HERN: A TOUGH COOKIE

Eleven-year-old Aaron Hern was there with his father, Alan, and little sister, Abby, to cheer on his mother, Katherine, in her first Boston Marathon when the bomb went off. Alan found his son lying injured on the ground with leg wounds.

"He was conscious. He talked to me and said, `My leg really hurts, Daddy,' but he was being pretty brave," Alan Hern told KGO-TV.

The family is from Martinez, Calif., and Alan Hern is the Alhambra High School varsity football coach, KGO reported.